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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26074864">I Can't Help Myself</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dinohay123/pseuds/Dinohay123'>Dinohay123</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Avatar: Legend of Korra</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Death, Doing the Right Thing, Eventual Smut, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Murder, Mystery, Past Rape/Non-con, Revenge, Romance, Serial Killers, Star-crossed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 03:07:47</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,568</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26074864</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dinohay123/pseuds/Dinohay123</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The Avatar is meant to be the bridge between the spirit and the physical world, and bring peace and harmony to the four nations. They succeed, for the most part. They battle the evil spirits that try to crossover into our world and they stop power-hungry leaders that try to control the world, but what about the little battles? The bad guys that aren’t good enough to be dealt with by the Avatar? What happens to them? Absolutely nothing. The police forces that are put in place in the cities of every nation do nothing but show up and make victims feel like shit. They claim there is no proof, or that they have bigger issues to worry about, more important matters to attend to. To then go do what? Hide while the gangs of Republic City still terrorize the streets, hundreds of men, women, and children are left homeless and starving on the streets, and disgusting men using their strength and bending to force women to sleep with them. Not anymore.<br/>Someone has to stop these monsters, someone needs to. And I'm going to be the one to do it.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Bolin (Avatar)/Original Character(s), Korra/Asami Sato</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Peace and Harmony</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hey guys,<br/>So idk why this idea come up into my head, but it did and I'm gonna roll with it. This is my first fanfiction so I'm pretty excited, but it is also extremely dark so I'll put a warning here. There is talk about rape, torture, and murder in this whole series but I promise this is a romance story and there will be very cute chapters in the future, so ENJOY!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Everything was over, the Avatar was able to defeat Kuvira and start establishing true peace and harmony across the four nations after years of constant battles. Then what? It felt like Team Avatar split up to do their own thing, well kinda. Korra and Asami stayed together to go on their own adventures, while Bolin and Mako stayed in Republic City. Bolin decided to join the police as part of a task force with Mako to stop the gangs and triads in the city. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The day starts as a regular one for the brothers, but once they arrive at the station, Chief Beifong says they will not be tracking down any triads today.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What do you mean, isn’t that the main point of this task force?” Mako questions.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, but many fear that there may be a new threat at hand, much worse than street thugs, I just need the force to go investigate to make sure it isn’t going to become an issue.” The group nods at her words and start heading out.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What do you think it is? Something more dangerous than the triads?” Bolin questions excitedly. He loved his job right now he really did, but it was starting to get boring and dare he say, easy at this point.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I heard it’s nothing but some neighbors freaking out over some shouting from the one of apartments nearby,” an officer says, clearly disinterested in this whole project.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, we’re about to find out. Come on.” Mako takes the lead of the group and they start walking about the stairs to the apartment. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Weird</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Bolin thinks, </span>
  <em>
    <span>why would a crime on the 5th floor of a popular apartment building be the place to commit a crime?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They finally make it to the apartment and immediately know what happened. It is a good-sized one-bedroom apartment that was tastefully decorated, but the kitchen is where the disaster is. The stove flames were burning on high and a pot that must’ve been filled to the top spilled all over the floor, right on top of the victim’s body. Any part of his skin that wasn’t covered by clothes was blistered and bright red. His eyes were wide open but the rest of his face was stoic.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, my Spirits” Bolin whispered. Many other officers had to leave the room due to the smell and sight of this man. “What does it look like to you big bro?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mako walked around the entire apartment, every room before he gave his answer. “There is nothing that would suggest another person was here, we can check with his friends and family, but it seems like the poor guy was boiling water and managed to slip and pour it all on himself.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The remaining officers nodded in agreement and started to head out of the room, but Bolin just didn’t fully believe that.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But bro, could water really burn like that, or like, why was he even boiling that much water on that high of heat anyway?” Before Mako could answer, they got radioed to meet back down at the station to start work on a new triad case and that someone was on their way to pick up the body.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That was the last time anyone mentioned that case, and the news never picked it up. Exactly what happened every time, to every dumb asshole who was stupid enough to fall for the tricks, because there is always something more important on the list.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>***Later that night***</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bolin went to his favorite noodle restaurant again, like he does every night. Mako used to protest it, saying it was too unhealthy for him, but they agreed that as long as Bolin kept up with his fitness, nothing was stopping him. But it shouldn’t have been that easy.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ever since he and Opal broke up, Bolin has been going to this noodle place every night, hoping that stuffing his face with noodles would be enough to stop his heart from feeling so empty. It never worked, and he knows it probably never will, but every night at 10 pm he is there.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Usually, there is no one else at the shop that late on a Tuesday night, but there was one person, a girl, about the same age as him but looked so tired that it could’ve aged her ten years. She was sitting alone in a booth and as he stared more he noticed that she had been crying, just a little bit. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Now, he wasn’t the type to just flirt with every pretty girl he saw like he used to, but it would eat him up inside if he didn’t try to cheer this girl up. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh, hey there, would it be okay if I joined you?” He asked as he got closer to the girl. She slowly raised her eyes over his body and up to his face, locking their eyes together. Despite looking so tired and upset, her eyes were filled with curiosity and excitement. She smiled at him and gestured for him to sit down. He felt himself blush slightly from the intensity of her gaze but took the seat.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Now what did I do today to deserve such an attractive man joining me for dinner?” Her voice was soft and laced with playfulness that made him turn even redder at her compliment. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, well I just, you know, walked in and saw that you looked upset and thought that a pretty girl shouldn’t be eating noodles alone so late.” He smiled with his words and he could’ve sworn he saw something flash across her face for a second. Confusion? Disbelief? Something of that nature.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Their conversations stay short but enjoyable, and while they eat the silence isn’t awkward or unwanted. It felt like good company, she was good company.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>While eating he couldn’t help but stare at her features. She was a very pretty girl, short black hair that didn’t reach her shoulders, golden-colored eyes, and a soft face. The clothes she wore were very baggy and represented the Earth Kingdom. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So are you a bender?” He asked, not wanted to just immediately point out her clothes and assume her nationality.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, I’m an earthbender actually.” He couldn’t help the smile on his face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Me too! I don’t often find any girl earthbenders unless they work with me.” She had a confused expression and he answered her question before she asked, “I work in a task force for Chief Beifong, to get the triads and stuff, pretty nice good, and nothing like making Republic City a safe place, you know?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He couldn’t help the pride that he speaks with when talking about his job, and he figured that it may impress her, just a little bit. But he was looking around the restaurant while saying this so he didn’t notice how she reacted to his statement. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her face switched from a soft smile to daggered eyes and a deep frown, but she quickly covered it up before he noticed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Did the Chief ever want to make a task force for the horrible men that rape the women here in Republic City?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He froze at her words, they were said so genuinely with no emotion on her face except curiosity. He knew that stuff like that happened sometimes, but didn’t think, or know, that it was an actual problem. Not in this city at least.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I-I...what?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Now her face flushed red with anger. She quickly stood up and grabbed her stuff to head out, “Well it sure was a great night, thank you for joining me.” Nothing in her voice sounded genuine, it was laced with so much venom Bolin felt like he was choking.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wait, hey don’t leave I’m sorry!” He tries to hurry and meet her outside before she could get too far away. He runs out the door and looks around, hoping to be able to find her, but she disappeared, but her words continue to repeat in his head.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Did the Chief ever want to make a task force for the horrible men that rape the women here in Republic City?</span>
  </em>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Laws in Place to Keep People Safe</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Okay, this chapter is also extremely dark. I didn't go into crazy detail, but there is a rape scene I advise you to be cautious and not to read it if it makes you feel uncomfortable or anything like that. After the first few chapters, it won't focus on this part of the story as much as crimes such as theft and murder. So bear with me for just a while longer lol. Anyway, I hope you guys are enjoying it so far and how I'm deciding to take this story!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“You can’t just shut me down like that, Mako!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mako sighs, obviously exasperated, and rolls his eyes back to his brother. “Bo, if there were a serious problem and women were in trouble in this city, we would’ve dealt with it. Just because a random girl you don’t know told you there was an issue, doesn’t mean there is.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay...okay! Yeah, you’re right, but we keep all of our case files right?” He waits for Mako to nod the answer he already knew, “Then can I go take a look, I think she was a victim of something like that and just wanna see if I’m right.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mako rubs his hands over his eyes and through his hair, “Look, I’ll sneak you in, but you better be quick bro, no more than 30 minutes alright?” Bolin nods enthusiastically and thanks his brother at least 30 times.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright, alright, let’s go.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>***</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bolin has been in the file room one other time, but luckily Mako told him where domestic violence and cases similar were kept. He notices that there are only two file cabinets full of these kinds of cases when most others have more than six.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Okay, maybe Mako was right and she wasn’t aware it wasn’t a problem.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But after opening the first drawer, he realizes that Mako might not know what he was talking about. There were hundreds of files just in this drawer, but they had close to no paper inside of them and some of them were combined with others. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Luckily they have been separated alphabetically, but he didn’t get her name.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Guess I gotta look the hard way,” he whispers to himself. He grabs one of the files and reads the one page inside of it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Young woman of the age 17 claims that while walking home from school, a man pulled her into an abandoned building where he raped and tortured her,” Bolin read aloud to himself and looked at the small picture that was attached. It was of a girl whose arms and stomach was covered with cuts and bruises. “After reviewing the contents of this case, the police determine this case to be dismissed?! Not enough evidence or witnesses to prove it to have happened?!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He set down that folder and grabbed a new one and one after that, and another after that.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Case has been dismissed, dismissed, dismissed!” Bolin probably went through a hundred of these files and they all say the same thing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh my Spirits,” he stands up holding his head and pacing in circles when he notices there are a couple of folders sitting on a table nearby. As he got closer he realized they all said the same name, Miyuki. All the other files he went through had different names, these were the only few that seemed to be from the same person. He opens one of the folders and sees </span>
  <em>
    <span>her</span>
  </em>
  <span> face, covered in bruises and bleeding, it makes his blood boil even more than it already was. He decided to read this file since it seemed like the first one and it took place 4 years ago.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>***</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Miyuki just turned 16 and couldn’t be happier, she spent an amazing night with her friends and family that she doesn’t get to see all the time, and best of all, her boyfriend couldn’t make it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She knows she should leave him, he doesn’t treat her right anymore; yelling at her, forcing her to sleep on the floor, cheating on her. All these red flags, yet she stays. None of her friends and family can really blame her, her boyfriend was starting to get involved with the Triple Threat Triads and other gangs around Republic City. That was enough to scare her into silence, but she couldn’t keep her mouth shut after this night.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was already home when she got back, which made her palms sweat, she knew she wasn’t out too late, but he was never back this early.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Babe? Honey? I’m home,” she calls out as she enters the apartment. All the lights were off and she couldn’t help the dark pit that grew in her stomach. Finally, the silence breaks.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re home late, and dressed like such a whore. Lucky some dirty street rat didn’t pick you up.” His words slur slightly and she knew she would be in trouble. Nothing good happened when he decided to drink.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You helped me pick out this outfit this morning, don’t you remember?” It was a light green dress that flared out at the hips and went down to her mid-thigh.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her words triggered something and he quickly appeared next to her and grabbed her arms hard enough that it would leave a mark.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ow! Hey, let go! What are yo-” Her words were cut off by a rag being shoved in her mouth. She tried to talk and push the rag out but it only made her want to gag.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Did you really think I wouldn’t find out? That I wouldn’t know about what you did?!” He slams her on the bed and she feels metal cuffs attach to her wrists and ankles, locking her to the bed. She tries to ask him what he was talking about but it only sounds like muffled cries.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He quietly stares at her for a moment before slowly starting to reach up her skirt, causing more muffled cries. “You really upset me, Miyuki. I love you, you know that. But this kind of behavior is not okay, and you have to pay for what you’ve done.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Before she has a chance to attempt to speak again, he slaps her across the face and starts climbing on top of her. She thrashes around violently but it only makes the chains tighten to an unbearable size, emphasizing the pain. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She can’t do anything but feel. Feel the cuffs cut into her like blades. Feel his dirty hands travel over her body. Feel the excruciating pain of when he bottoms out inside of her. Feel the tears stream down her face. Feel his disgusting, warm semen cover her chest and stomach.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Then, she felt sad.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He had left hours ago, giving her one more good punch before undoing her chains and leaving. She hadn’t moved. Not an inch. If she moved it would become real, the next day would come and she would have to face the truth of what happened, but in that moment, she wanted it to not be real.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Some sort of evil spirit must’ve heard her prayers because she went to the police the next morning, and she was told to just go back home and get some sleep. When asked why, they simply tell her that there simply isn’t enough evidence and they have better things to worry about.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. It Feels So Good</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>So I never said it before, but Bolin and Miyuki are both 20, making Mako 22. This chapter has mentions of rape and death so a warning here for you guys, but I hope you like it!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>I wish I could say that one time was enough for me to realize the system was wrong and something should be done. Even after the second, or even the third time. I may have gone to the police, but I could’ve and should’ve fought harder. But how?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The last time was a rich man of great importance in this broken city. He had some thugs kidnap me and take me up to his mansion where I was tortured for days, could’ve been a week, I wasn’t sure. That was the last straw.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I laid in my bed that night and let my mind wander to other options, other things I could do, ways to fix this problem. I stumbled upon one and thought that was too crazy, but couldn’t help but lean into its touch. It made me feel alive, made all that horrible pain they caused me to disappear, even for a second. That was enough for me.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I figured I should start with the asshole who kicked off the worst years of my life, my ex-boyfriend. He was the only man I ever dated, and the only man I planned to date. I was content with spending the rest of my life alone as long as I could keep doing this.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It wasn’t hard to find where he lived, it wasn’t exactly a secret. Especially not from me. He had challenged me many times to show up to his place and tell him how I felt, but I never took the opportunity. Until now.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It wasn’t late, I didn’t want it to be, to prove a point to myself about the police in this city. They don’t give a shit about anything.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was eating dinner, and it looked like he had a guest over, some girl. People may say that over time, people can change, but that’s not how I see it. As long as people who have done the things that he has done, but still get to live until they die of old age, it’s telling the universe that those actions are okay. Why should he get to sleep peacefully at night meanwhile I can’t shut up my eyes for a second without seeing what he did to me? I get that the world isn’t fair, so I’m making the playing field even.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lucky for the girl, she wasn’t staying the night, which left me all alone with him. I simply walk over to his front door and walked in. He was in the bathroom taking a shower so I had time to wander and snoop through his place. There were no pictures on the walls, not of family or friends at least. Nothing about his furniture could tell you anything about who this man is. There is nothing to warn women about the kinds of things he likes to do. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The shower turned off so I grabbed a knife, a very big one, and walked into his room. There was no metal nearby and there was a low chance that he carried some with him after a shower, so it was gonna work out perfectly.</span>
</p>
<p> <span>But as his footsteps made their way down the hall, I got a nervous pit in my stomach and realized what exactly I was going to do. I can’t kill somebody! Quickly I hid inside his closet and just hoped he would leave so I could sneak out.</span></p>
<p>
  <span>He walked into the room, a towel wrapped around his waist and sat down on the bed. Enjoying the silence for only a second, he then turned towards his radio and started fiddling with it. He settled on a random station and picked up the microphone and started talking.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey Lee, you there?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Silence.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What you got for me, man?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I just finished dinner with the girl. Yeah, the super hot one. Yeah, I can get her to the building easily.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re sure? I don’t want another mistake like last time, that wasted an entire day.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t worry, I will get her there and there will be plenty of ass for everyone. You might as well te-” He was cut off by a knife slicing his throat. My knife. He turned and looked at me while clutching his neck, eyes wide like saucers. I walked over to his radio and turned it off, despite the questions being shouted on the other end. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I looked at him again, and he was still fighting through it. I simply grabbed his hair and pushed his head back, forcing the blood to gush out even faster. He was dead in a few seconds, but I felt like someone had just resurrected me. After three years of lying dead in the ground, I finally felt like I could walk. And that’s exactly what I did.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I cleaned the blood off myself and made sure there wasn’t a single way they could trace me, even though I was confident in their neglection, it was still murder after all. Once I exited the building, there was no turning back. I walked until it wasn’t suspicious, then I ran. I ran fast and hard, not caring about the pain in my lungs or the soreness of my legs because I got to feel something.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I know, from this point on, I was no longer going to be a bystander, and the women of Republic City will start to feel safe again. I’ll make sure of it.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>***One year later/ Present Day***</span>
</p>
<p> <span>I knew the young police officer was gonna try and find me again, very predictable. I dealt with many of his type; muscular, powerful bender, handsome, all of them are the same, and so incredibly easy to kill. But this one made me frustrated, he had seen my true looks and worked for the city. Usually, when dealing with the police, I wear wigs and drastically different clothes and makeup, just to make sure. </span></p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Just kill him, if he is willing to go back to try and find you again it won’t take a lot to lure in somewhere quiet.</span>
  </em>
  <span> It’s true, it would be easy, but that is the problem. You can’t help but feel guilty at the idea of using his naive nature against him. He was the first guy in four years that has talked to me like a normal person, possibly like a future friend. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It didn’t help that I knew who he was. Previous pro-bending superstar, who also starred in movies and helped save the world so many times. I also knew that he grew up on the streets here, him and his brother. That should be enough right? The fact that he at one point did easy work for a triad when he was 13, but it wasn’t. All that money and fame, but no giant mansion. No bribing of thugs to kidnap girls, no secret sex rings. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He honestly believes that he is cleaning up the streets here in Republic City. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It’s hard to blame just another cog in the machine, but you had to. That mindset however did not stop you from emerging from your hiding spot in the alley by the noodle shop and calling out to him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you looking for something, pretty boy? Or perhaps, someone?” You can’t help your flirtatious nature. It's a habit at this point.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He jumps a little bit, dropping a file he was holding, and turns to make eye contact with you. He starts to flush red, probably due to the nickname and how scared he got.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You sure do know how to scare people, Miyuki.” I froze at the mention of my name, and it didn’t take him long to catch on. My eyes darted down to the file he dropped and quickly bent down to pick it up, beating him to it by earthbending him back a few feet. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I opened the file and saw it was one of my police reports, the second one. It was basically empty and claimed there was not enough evidence to investigate. Go figures.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why do you have this?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I took it. I have your other files too. All four of them.” I glared at him as he stuttered out his short sentences. When he saw that I wasn’t making any moves to talk, he continued. “There are hundreds of files like this, of reports claiming that the women of Republic City were lying basically. They are hidden in the back of the file room, basically erased from the system. I truly had no id-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Now was a good time to cut him off. “I don’t want to hear it. Hundreds of case files that you never heard of? Might be believable, you just started working there. But your brother? No no no, he has worked there for years, I know women who have talked to him for him to sign off that there was no issue. The police system is corrupt here, and can’t handle the issues within its city, no matter how many task forces are made.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bringing up his brother seemed to trigger something in his head. “No way my brother would do this on purpose, there has to be an explanation.” He whispered. It is difficult to see him so upset, it doesn’t suit his face well.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But I hide my empathy, and continue, “Well when you find out, let me know? Because the situation can only get worse from here. Have fun in your task force, Bolin.” I’m done with this conversation, and I’m done with him. As I walk away, I feel him grab my arm.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>If it were anyone else, I would’ve turned and killed him right there, the alley was dark enough and it was plenty late enough, but it was him. His hand was large but gently. He didn’t pull, he simply stopped me. I could’ve easily moved my arm and continued walking, and he would’ve let me. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I said nothing, giving him nothing, but he started to talk anyway. “I read all of your files, all of your statements. I believe that those men did those awful things to you, and all those other women.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The silence hurts, and I wanted to leave, to run away, but I was frozen in place. Similar to how I felt last night before he came into the noodle shop. That was the first time since my first kill that I started to feel sadness and remorse. That feeling was coming back, even stronger as he continued talking.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know about your boyfriend when you were 16, about the triad members a few months later, your math professor right before you graduated, and that rich man who had you kidnapped. I can’t go back and fix those things, but I will fix them now. I will make sure that no one else has to be treated like this. I don’t care if it’ll take the rest of my life, but I will need your help.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I squeezed my eyes together tight in hopes to stop the tears, but it didn’t work. </span>
  <em>
    <span>You can’t help him! You have been killing these men for a year! But is it working? Of course it’s working! Then why are there still cases! </span>
  </em>
  <span>I argued with myself in my head for what felt hours but was only a few seconds. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I didn’t notice how his hand slipped down to hold mine, and that moved around so he was in front of me. It wasn’t until I felt him grab my other hand that I opened my eyes and found his. They were such an intense green, could easily be the eyes of a killer, but they were soft and warm and had so much compassion that I couldn’t stop my cheeks from burning a light pink.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Please, I want to help you, but I need you to help me.” He whispered, making you realize how close he was. His chest was only a few inches away. It was hard to fight the compulsion to lean into his chest and let him protect me. Let him take all of my problems and replace them with warmth. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I took a deep breath, </span>
  <em>
    <span>don’t do it, if you do you will get caught, all of your work will have been for nothing, </span>
  </em>
  <span>“Fine, I’ll help you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I felt him wrapped his muscular arms around me in a hug. Instinctively, I wrapped my arms around his neck and let the tears fall. Just for this one night.  </span>
</p>
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